Felt News

Two Podiums for Felt at World Cup #3

Sunday, May 13, 2012

The Felt Ötztal X-Bionic team had a successful outing at Round 3 of the World Cup Cross-Country Series in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, scoring podium finishes in the Men’s Eliminator Sprint race and the Women’s XC race.

Australian Paul van der Ploeg got things off to a strong start, posting the fastest qualifying time among pro men in the Eliminator event. He advanced to the finals and finished second behind Swiss rider Sepp Freiburghaus. It was the second podium appearance in as many races for “The Thunder from Down Under.”

A huge crowd turned out for the XC events, and Slovenian rider Blaza Klemencic rose to the occasion for the Felt Ötztal X-Bionic team, finishing fifth to score her second World Cup podium of the season.

The technical course at Nove Mesto produced lots of shuffling among the top-10 riders during the race, and Klemencic did well to hold her ground in the top-five. She put in an aggressive final lap on her Felt Six hardtail to score the podium, a repeat of her performance at Round 2 in Houffalize, Belgium. Klemencic is now ninth overall in the World Cup.